Why are women uncomfortable with silence?

Question

I mean two good males friends can go fishing for hours and not say anything and still feel comfortable, but women feel they must talk to fill any quite moments.

Or am I completely wrong?.

Answer 1

It depends on the woman. I'm comfortable with silence.  If we have nothing to talk about, I don't talk.  When I'm with other people that are uncomfortable with silence I inevitably get the "what's wrong?  Why are you so quiet?"  But I've noticed I've gotten this response from women AND men.  I think it just depends on the individual and how much they want to talk.  My last boyfriend was a talker and talked most of the time.  My current man is not much of a talker so we share moments of silence (which makes me wonder-- is having two non-talkers in one relationship a good thing or a bad thing?)

Answer 2

You are wrong; I could be in a room full of women, and not say a single word.  I love silence; it's more welcoming than gossip, which I abhor.

Answer 3

You're wrong. Plenty of women, like myself, are quite comfortable with silence.

Like Fereshte, I've had people (mostly men) asking me 'What's wrong?' when I've been happily being quiet. It seems as though some people EXPECT women to talk constantly and are perturbed when they don't.

A study of 396 students published in Science found that men and women talk about the same amount.

Answer 4

I have only ever met one person who had what pretty much amounted to a phobia of silence. She was a nightmare! You literally could not get 10 seconds of silence when she was around. What was worse was she acted as if you were being rude if you didn't join in her incessant chatter. Once I tried just ignoring her and she went crazy, started crying her eyes out and told everyone how horrible I was - and they sided with her! F*** I am glad there aren't too many people like that around.

Do women talk more than men? Of course. I think its crazy to say that this amounts to better communication though.

Answer 5

i'm not.  unless i have something to say.  men rely more on themselves and feed off of the actions of their friends, while women value the input of their friends and discuss things with them.  it's one of the many things that make as different from each other.  : )

Answer 6

Calm and quiet is good. Unless we're in a situation that we should be talking.  

Answer 7

yeah

I have seen this so often

the worse thing about this issue is that women don't like to be friendly with silent people

Answer 8

I think the only time a person is uncomfortable with silence is when they are uncomfortable with the person they are with.  

But, I do slightly understand what you are talking about.  Some women can go on and on for hours and hours about clothes, and shoes, and makeup....ugh.  I'd rather hide in bed and take a nap.  

But at the same time, I know some men who can go on and on for hours and hours about topics that interest them.  And still, I'd rather hide in bed and take a nap.

Answer 9

I think it has more to do with personality than gender. I love comfortable silences and also my "alone" time. My latest ex-bf couldn't stand silence and had to be involved in my life all the time. It drove me nuts.

Answer 10

Not all. I hate pointless chattering.

Answer 11

eh?? i had to laugh when i read this i have been sitting here for the last hour playing on this and my husband is in the same room working on something and we havent spoke in over an hour!  

Answer 12

men are too.

Answer 13

You're completely wrong.  Any time you make a sweeping generality about more than half the people on the planet you are likely to be completely wrong.  

Answer 14

Silence is the most perfect expression of scorn.(George Bernard Shaw )

and we know of the wrath of a woman scorned huh ?  They just vocalize it better . We just keep quiet or else it's the couch for the rest of the year  .

We do not want that .!!!

Take Care  

Answer 15

In my case, my husband is the chatter-box and ruins a fishing trip for us.

Answer 16

Right... Do you notice like I.. that we are often privileged to be in the company of a inordinately high concentration of women who seem to contradict commonly shared stereotypes. -- isn't that always convenient? (especially when its the same pool of women who seem to contradict every [*negative only - again how convenient] stereotype known to man?)

Answer 17

It should not shock you that you are completely wrong!  Going fishing no one has to talk; it scares the fishes.  Hanging at a party with friends you should talk its kind of the place for it.  

Answer 18

Yes, you're completely wrong.

First, it is possible for two women to spend time together without talking the entire time.

But it is less common than it is among men. Your second error is assuming it's out of being "uncomfortable with silence" -- it's actually about liking to talk and to listen, to know what's going on with the other, and share what's going on with them, and just a general enjoyment of conversation.

It's not feeling we MUST talk, in order to FILL quiet moments. Much of the enjoyment of doing things together is talking to each other.

Answer 19

When I meet with my friends the purpose is usually to talk and catch up on each others lives.

In my marriage we had comfortable silences and moments of pointless chatter. It was a nice balance and we never put much thought into it, it just happened.

Answer 20

All about balance....skip the mindless chatter....skip the no talking for days.  

Answer 21

I can be silent for hours at a time, it doesn't bother me at all.

Answer 22

It depends on the person

Answer 23

This is a huge generalisation.

There are many men and women who are unable to handle or simply uncomfortable with silence or who feel they have a responsibility to fill it.

Although I have noticed that men tend to assume that a woman's silence means she is unhappy when it is usually not the case. Sometimes it's just nice to enjoy silence with someone or with yourself.

Personally, I am quite comfortable with silence and I find it can be just as meaningful as sharing a good discussion with someone. There's nothing wrong with silence, and it's not a gendered thing either.